5 Reasons Why Garage Doors Come OFF Track

Garage doors serve as an important function of a second gateway to your home and a place to store your vehicle and excess materials. You get plenty of utility by having garage doors such as moving large objects that do not fit through your front door into and out of your home. Most do not appreciate the importance of garage doors until they malfunction and are impractical for regular use.

At Cleaner Confessions we know that the garage door is one of the biggest and heaviest mechanical components of your home that moves. The garage door works on a system of tracks, switches, and rollers and like any mechanical device, it gets wear and tears with passing time and regular use. Malfunctioning garage doors can be a considerable safety hazard because of their weight and size. 

By discerning the cause of garage doors coming off their tracks, you can take preventive action and upkeep to ensure that garage doors do not come off their tracks. This article gives you a brief idea about the 5 common reasons for a garage door to come off track. 

1. Hitting The Door With A Car

It may not be surprising to discover that the most common reason for a garage door to come off its track is due to hitting it with a car. There is a high chance for car owners to accidentally or carelessly bump into their garage door while parking the vehicle or while taking it out of the driveway.

The car driver may also be impatient and hit the garage door because of trying to drive through while the garage door is not fully open. Cars carry a large momentum resulting in a heavy impact on the garage doors even when at low speeds of 3 miles per hour. When the car hits the garage door, it affects the bottom portion of the garage door where the impact occurs and the entire door system.

2. Misalignment and Obstruction of Track

Misalignment of the track occurs when the installation of the horizontal tracks is not proper or because of the poor quality of the material. Misalignment may also occur because it wears off the track for the heavyweight of the garage door that it must support. The faulty installation of the garage door and the horizontal tracks will only become apparent after some use.

Improper alignment of the tracks will also accumulate additional stress leading to deformation and rollers slipping off the track, which is damaging to quiet rollers. Sometimes, small stones of twigs can jam between the tracks and form an obstruction to the movement of the rollers. With use, the obstructions can cause misalignment of the track or the rollers to jump out of the tracks. 

3. Dirt and Lubrication

The garage is not the cleanest place of a house due to use and proximity to the outside environment. Dust and dirt can build up on the garage door spring and stick with the lubricant in the tracks and around the rollers. Dirt will cause a build-up of friction between the rollers and tracks and the rollers may jam in the tracks due to the lack of lubrication. 

4. Break Off Cable

A cable break on the lift cables on either side of the garage door can be the contributor to your garage door coming off its tracks. Breaking off the cable is common in older garage doors because they are not maintained regularly. The cable will not line up if there is a change in the garage’s alignment door. 

5. Rollers Wearing Out

Rollers undergo wear and tear due to a perpetual state of motion from the regular use of the garage door. If one roller breaks, it will add pressure to the other rollers causing misalignment because of uneven stress. LED lights can also cause problems with the operation of an electric garage door for the electrical interference of signals. 


You may notice that in several homes, the garage doors are partially open or slanting to one side. This is predominantly because of garage doors coming off their tracks. There are several reasons for a garage door to come off their tracks. You need to stay vigilant and take preventive countermeasures to ensure that your garage doors do not malfunction by observing regular maintenance. 

If your garage door is not functioning properly, you need to take measures to repair the door immediately. The reason for the urgency is for the garage door to collapse on top of a car or a person while in use. You may enjoy the help of a professional garage door contractor to assess your door and make recommendations for the repairs necessary. 

The garage door expert can also provide insights regarding if you need to replace the garage door. You may also perform repairs on a garage door that has come off track with relevant advice and instructions. Therefore, you must understand the reasons that a roller of a garage door derails to comprehend the issue and fix it.

About author View all posts

Nicholas Carr

Nicholas Carr
